The present disclosure relates to changing automotive and vehicle tires. The apparatus relates in particular to bead breaking and mounting/dismounting truck tires.
Truck tire failure poses time, labor and transit delay. Historical practices required transport of replacement tires and tire changing equipment imposing the labor on the driver of changing the failed tire. More recently trucking companies have provided for communication means allowing a driver to notify a central facility to send assistance. The changing of a truck tire while on the road, by one with experience, requires approximately 20-40 minutes. Tire sales and service companies, having automated equipment, experience truck tire changing at the rate of approximately three per hour. A medium sized tire service company may change forty to fifty truck tires per day requiring sufficient staff for such labor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,611 to Schmidt discloses a tire changing machine; U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,358 to Ling discloses a tire bead loosening tool and universal rim adapter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,526 Hamade et al discloses an automotive flat tire repair system improvement; U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,030 to Mandelko discloses a tire bead separator; U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,958 discloses a tire mounting, bead seating and inflation apparatus and method of use; U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,052 discloses a tire mount/dismount bar; U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,392 to Unrau discloses a tire bead breaker; U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,257 to Reeves discloses a tire breaker apparatus for all-terrain vehicle tires; U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,918 to Unrau discloses a tire changer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,699 to Giles et al discloses a tire bead breaking device; U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,014 to Turpin discloses a bead breaking tool; U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,731 to Ringo discloses a tire casing spreader; U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,958 to Corles discloses a tire mounting, bead seating and inflation apparatus and method of use; U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,582 discloses a bead breaking apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,975 to Johnson discloses a tire changing tool; U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,433 to Thomas discloses a bead breaking device for tractor tires.
The foregoing patents and printed publications are provided herewith in an Information Disclosure Statement in accordance with 37 CFR 1.97.
Changing a tire requires the damaged or worn tire to be removed from a wheel and a replacement tire mounted on the wheel. A tire changing and bead breaker apparatus is disclosed. The first act requires the tire bead, at both sides of the tire, to be disengaged from both sides of the wheel rim. A tire bead breaker module is disclosed comprised of at least two elongated pressure clamps terminating in bead pad clamps. The at least two elongated pressure clamps straddle a tire at the tire perimeter, which is concentric with the wheel center, positioning the at least two bead pad clamps proximal the tire rim and tire side proximal the tire bead. The pressure clamps are urged toward each other thus applying pressure to the tire at both sides and moving the tire side at the bead to disengage the bead from the tire rim. The pressure clamps, having clamp first and second ends, are pivotally mounted on a mounting bar. The bead pad clamps are urged toward the opposing bead pad clamp, in the preferred embodiment, by a hydraulic actuator positioned between and attached to the clamp second ends. A clamp stop pin positioned intermediate a pressure clamp first end and the pivot point at the mounting bar will encounter the mounting bar and stop movement of that pressure clamp to allow the opposing pressure clamp to continue movement and thus insure disengagement of both tire beads from the rim.
Upon disengagement of the bead from the rim, a tire mount/dismount module is employed as disclosed here. In the preferred embodiment, the tire mount/dismount module is installed as the initial step in changing the tire. In the preferred embodiment, the tire changing and bead breaker apparatus is stabilized by the receiver of the tire mount/dismount module as the preliminary step to breaking the bead from the tire rim. The tire mount/dismount module is affixed to the wheel by insertion ofxe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d bolts through slots in a base plate assembly, into the wheel hands allowing tightening of wing nuts, on the threaded xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d bolts, and thus securing the base plate assembly to the wheel. The base plate assembly, in the preferred embodiment, remains fixed and stationary during the operation of the apparatus. A receiver and drive assembly, positioned by the base plate assembly, has a receiver which receives a standard tire bead rolling tool. The tool is received into the receiver at one end while the opposing end is received between a tire bead and the tire rim. Rotation of the receiver and drive assembly, by a drive gear engagement with a stationary ring gear, causes the receiver and tire bead rolling tool to rotate around the wheel and tire bead perimeter thus performing either the removal or installation of the tire on the wheel. Both tire beads are addressed resulting in either mounting or dismounting of the tire from the wheel.
The disclosed tire changing and bead breaker apparatus is light weight, portable and substantially less expensive than prior art apparatuses. The disclosure is of an apparatus which, from commencement of attachment through bead breaking, tire removal and tire mounting, can accomplish the process in less than two (2) minutes. The apparatus may be used in tire shops as well as on the road by drivers. The application is of particular interest relative to truck tires.